The impact aggression in porn has on young people

A new documentary reveals why our desire for degrading sex is fuelling a $25 billion porn industry. But it comes with major pitfalls.

Photo: Stocksy

There's no denying the porn industry has crept out of the paper bag, and into a booming number of bedrooms, DVD drawers, handbags and computer devices across the country and the world.

Now playing a popular model of sexual education for young people, the pornography industry has pushed the boundaries to include more aggression, more humiliation and more degradation towards women than ever before — and it’s having a damaging impact on young consumers.

“Porn portrays messages that men are powerful, aggressive and get their way, and to the consumer there’s something appealing about that message,” sex expert and co-producer of The Porn Factor on SBS told news.com.au.

“Women in heterosexual porn look like they are happy to do anything the man wants, from being gagged or chocked and even spanked. The films show that they enjoy it and that’s part of the appeal. But the reality is, it’s not always the case.”

As an industry that drives 30 per cent of all internet traffic across the world, pornography is estimated to produce an annual profit of $25 billion dollars globally.

But the accessibility of pornographic material has created a big problem.

Young people who use the material as a sexual educator are becoming confused about what women actually want when getting intimate with their partner.

According to experts interviewed as part of The Porn Factor, young women would often continue to participate in an aggressive sexual act even when they found it uncomfortable, distasteful or degrading.

“Porn is a powerful communicator, and it can influence us even when we aren’t aware that it is,” said Ms Crabbe, who has worked with young people for more than 20 years.

“Both young men and women are getting very unrealistic views on sex and on gender and how women are to be treated.”

Looking at 50 of the best-selling pornographic videos available on the market, 88 per cent contained physical aggression, and almost half contained verbal aggression. Of those figures, 94 per cent of that aggression was towards women.

“Porn is shaping many young mens’ tastes and hopes and experiences before they even have sex for the first time,” Ms Crabbe said.

“They see something in porn and want to try it out. Women (on the other hand) don’t necessarily want to try what their partner wants to do, but they also want to please their partner.

“Often the conversation about what the woman enjoys is absent.”

While pornography is nothing new, it’s the accessibility and the increase in aggression that Ms Crabbe believes is contributing to the “cultural conditions that make violence against women more likely”.

“We know the key driver is gender inequality. Unequal power, stereotypes and disrespect, and porn does all of those things,” Ms Crabbe said.

“It’s confusing for young men. Often they say it’s not realistic, but it can still shape what they’d like to do when having sex.

“If you watch something often enough, it can start to turn you on. Research suggests young men are aware that sex may be painful for women, but still want to try certain positions because of what they’ve seen in porn.”

While more than nine in 10 Australian boys aged between 13 and 16 have seen pornography online, many are stumbling upon material inadvertently through various search engines and pop ups.

“Pornography is not new, but people once had to work much harder to get it,” Ms Crabbe said.

“The 80s had a couple of hundred films made each year, now that number is around 8000 to 12,000 yearly. Porn consumption is anonymous, accessible and free. The nature of the material is not the centrefold it used to be.”

Ms Crabbe said while banning internet use is obviously not the answer, educators and parents need to be aware of the kind of impact porn is having on younger people.

“There’s a deliberate degradation and humiliation towards women in porn with men being in control and overpowering,” Ms Crabbe said.

“It’s not strong to have power over someone in those ways, and porn has created a very disturbing model of masculinity.

“We need to help men capture vision of how consent is sexy. It’s sexy to be with someone who wants to do something with you. It’s not sexy to pressure someone into something.

Travelling throughout Australia, Europe and North America, Maree Crabbe spoke with 70 young people about the porn they watch, and how it has influenced their own sexual experiences. At the heart of the adult film industry, porn veterans, including directors, producers and performers provide their insight into porn’s ever-evolving aggressive nature were also interviewed.